Mechanization, that is to say the replacement of human or animal effort with machine power, has now proceeded to the point where most tasks in agriculture in the development world are mechanized. In some, control of the machine is carried out automatically rather than by a human operator. Although there is already a degree of automation, there is as yet very little use of artificial intelligence within machines on the farm. However, there is a great deal of research in progress on the integration of computer control, artificial intelligence, sensor ability and mechanical engineering. This paper describes briefly some examples of such work at AFRC Engineering which will lead to machines which can think for themselves.
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